Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Here are some great photos from one of the first year of weddings we had at Pine River Ranch. They had a great entrance out the front door of the barn and down the staircase. It added to the suspense! (P.S- just click any picture to see it larger!)

Kene Sperry, the photographer did a great job of capturing different shots all over the 22 acres here at the Ranch.

Kene got some great shots in the fields, meadows, trees, near the pond and some great shots in the barn as well.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

The Penner-Jones Wedding was last August and they had such beautiful vintage touches and elaborate details in all their decorations. They used a wedding planner Julia Hanson and the photographer Dinea De did a wonderful job of capturing the small details of their wedding.

The touches Kimberly and Julia put into the wedding were just amazing. The vintage Hollywood glamor inspired style was very apparent with the lace, pearls and vintage style cameras decorated throughout the Venue. Kimberly's bouquet was in honor of her Grandma, who made the bouquet herself out of her wedding veil from her wedding in 1947.

Their cake was made by B at Busy Beas Cakes and the old suitcases, white gloves, lace and pearls matched their theme perfectly.

The Wedding ran smoothly and it turned out just amazing. I look forward to posting more wedding as I get time this winter.

Today it snowed about 9 inches, actually it snowed about 7 inches last night and another 2" today, so Winter has really arrived. Snowshoes are already being used by the guests, and cross-country skiing is active at the State Park, only a 3 minute drive from the Ranch. Bailey is going nuts, as usual, winter is his favorite season. Though he is a bit upset that his favorite swimming hole is frozen solid. We have groomed (back-bladed) our horse and buggy trail for winter snow-shoeing, and/or cross-country skiing right from your front porch here at the ranch. As it is still snowing and guests are coming in I am leaving to go shovel the sidewalks once more before it gets too dark out.

Friday, December 11, 2009

The winter months are the favorite and I always find my self excited to spend the holidays with my friends and family. The suites are booking up pretty fast here which is wonderful for the holidays because we get to spend time with all of you. We still have room left this December and January if you are thinking about a last minute getaway. We have had quite a few gift certificates purchased this year for "the person who has everything" or great romantic getaways. (You can always purchase a gift certificate last minute on Christmas Eve when you realize you've forgotten what day it is! I won't tell your significant other when you show up what day you purchased the gift certificate on.)

As the snow starts to fall I enjoy watching Bailey our chocolate lab "attack" the snow flakes. It reminds me of when she was a puppy and you could hardly see her in the snow because it went over her head! She loves walking with me through the snow and is right by my side "helping" as I prepare the grounds for winter. I can't wait for the snow to build up because I love teaching our guests how to snowshoe, it is always very comical at the beginning and after a few minutes everyone looks like pros! Make sure to stop in after your snow shoeing adventure and I'll make sure to have on a fresh pot of coffee or some hot chocolate to warm you up by our fireplace.

I hope everyone is finding themselves in good health and good spirit this holiday season and I look forward to spending time with you as you come for a relaxing getaway. Check out our specials page or winter activities for some great things to do while you join us here at Pine River Ranch.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

&nbspI am getting married in a little less than a year and I am so far behind, I am just not sure what to do? I don't even have a date chosen yet and don't have dresses for my bridesmaids. Please Help!
--Procrastinating Bride

Procrastinating Bride,
&nbspOnce you have the date and venue set I think it is all downhill from there. The hardest part is actually getting started! Hiring a wedding planner is great advice to help you get organized but if that is not something you are interested in sit down and make a list of some of the most important things you need. Venue, Date, Invites, Dress, Flowers, Cake and DJ then pick one area to tackle every week. Don't be overwhelmed with planning books that say you need to start your wedding planning a year plus in advance. I have plenty of brides that plan their weddings in just a couple months.

&nbspAnother tip is to find a great venue that includes a lot of the "extras" like linens, chairs, dishes etc. which can save a lot of stress in the long run! As for the bridesmaids and dresses, my happiest brides say they took their bridesmaids to a dress shop and let them pick out what they wanted to wear. If you want your bridesmaids to match, just tell them and most of the time you can all agree on something great! Heres a beautiful wedding shot where the bridesmaids didn't match. The bride just said wear something tea length and black!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

We were looking on craigslist for some great new wooden rocking chairs to put on the patios in the rooms and found some great chairs exactly like what we were looking for. When we went to pick them up at the lady's house it turns out she is a designer who specializes in a "rustic- log cabin" look. She offered to come out and take a look at Pine River Ranch and offer some advice. That's when the tornado of remodeling began! She went through all the rooms and gave us some fabulous ideas to remodel the rooms and add great personal touches to each room. Like the great river rock lamps we created and new bird watching guides and binoculars in each of the rooms. We've spent the last month collecting great pieces for each of the rooms and painting as fast as we can for the holiday season! My personal favorites are the flat screen TVs (who can argue with that! We do have about 150 DVDs here for people to watch when they stay, so now they can watch them on a great new TV) and the new sitting area in the main house. We brought in some new couches and chairs and great throw blankets to create a warm and inviting setting in front of the fireplace for people that want to come in and visit. Another favorite I am currently working on is the awesome new table that is going to be in the main house. I've found the wood from the property and am building a giant log table to seat up to 12 people. It is going to be great for weddings so we can serve breakfast family style and everyone can tell stories from the night before! Nicole, who maintains our website absolutely loves the new paint in all the rooms. It went from white to beautiful reds, greens and browns which really add a great touch to each room. She loves how the new rooms look on the website so far and can't wait to get up pictures once the remodel is done! Here's a quick Before & After sneak peak of the progress in the Nason Suite.

Well, I'd better get back to painting, sanding and staining if we want to get this all done before Christmas. Check back often for new updates on the remodel and I'll have some new specials posted sometime in January or February! Enjoy the holidays and the time you get to spend with your friends and family. To book a room visit us online at http://www.prranch.com/ So far the Nason, Natapoc, Chelan, Evergreen and Lodgepole all have new paint (even though all the pictures aren't updated) but changes have been made to all the rooms!